Search Results for: The Japanese House

When Avril Lavigne released album No. 2 in 2004, the spunky teen pop star announced to the world that she was growing up. Gone were the baggy pants and skater-chick image that first earned Lavigne the media-christened nickname of “the anti-Britney.” On that year’s “Under My Skin,” punky anthems like “Sk8er Boi” were replaced largely with grammatically correct, midtempo teen-angst rockers. The album was released a few months shy of Lavigne’s 20th birthday, and the black-and-white Goth imagery made it clear that Lavigne was dealing with some intense late-teen issues. Today, Lavigne is done with all that. On April 17,… Read more »

The Donnas have nothing on the Bens. The three members really are named Ben, and you may have heard of them: Ben Folds, Ben Kweller and Ben Lee. The solo singers officially became a group, or at least a side project, when they recorded four songs together in Nashville last month. “There’s some new wave on there, a piano ballad that Folds sings, a countryish song,” Kweller said Saturday backstage at Coachella. “It’s just all three of us writing songs; there’s not any one particular sound. It’s all three of us singing, big harmonies.” After the three-day studio session, the… Read more »

The Beastie Boys will perform April 25 at Las Vegas’ House of Blues, in a show that will serve both as a tribute to slain Run-D.M.C. DJ Jam Master Jay and a warm-up for the veteran rap trio’s headlining slot the next night at the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. Longtime Beasties associate DJ Hurricane will also be on the bill for the all-ages Vegas show, tickets for which are now on sale for $75 and $150. Further details regarding the benefit were unavailable at deadline. It is not known if surviving Run-D.M.C. members Joseph “Reverend… Read more »

“How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” Michael Stipe asked the crowd soon after R.E.M. took the stage Thursday night at the venerable venue. “Practice,” the crowd blurted in unison. “Well, we didn’t,” Stipe responded. “So if you hear a bum note or something that doesn’t sound right, I urge you to sing louder in your head.” The tour-shy Athens rockers and granola-pop folkie Jewel were among those on hand for an evening of spirited entertainment at “You Gotta Have Friends: Partners in the Fight Against AIDS,” a benefit for the Gay Men’s Health Crisis. ( from the event.) Judging… Read more »

They came not to bury him, but to praise the man who pioneered television sketch comedy. Sid Caesar, whose “Your Show of Shows” was a household name during its run from 1950 to 1954, recalls being amazed and profoundly moved when he received a 15-minute standing ovation during his recent appearance on Drew Carey’s improvisational series “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” on ABC. The 79-year-old actor, who walks with a cane following recent surgery to both hips, told Reuters his biggest fear about returning to the small screen after an absence of more than 20 years was that no one… Read more »

Fred Durst is currently in the midst of packing up once again, but this time he plans on leaving the country. The U.K. publication NME is reporting that the Limp Bizkit singer may soon to be a resident of London. The frontman told the paper he’s sick of the perception Americans have of him. “I want to move to England and I have already started looking,” said the controversial vocalist. “I am sick of the attitude towards me in America. I am always getting judged and there is no loyalty. Everyone is so great in Europe, and I am trying… Read more »

Showing no signs of fatigue or question marks about making a show revolve around material from her last two albums, Madonna started her final stop on the Drowned World Tour Sunday with a mesmerizing and confident performance that puts to shame any singer who thinks she might have a shot at Ms. Ciccone’s pop throne. Madonna frames blocks of songs in various settings, using mix-and-match motifs that yield differing results. In the end, she emerges triumphant – a reminder of why her star has never dimmed. Hundred-minute show closes on “Holiday,” Madonna’s first top 40 single from way back in… Read more »